The present invention relates generally to garbage disposal units and more particularly to units which operate to crush or compact garbage and other waste materials by operation of a compacting piston within a tank or receptacle containing the garbage. Units of the type to which the present invention relates generally include spindles through which compacting forces generated by an electric motor or the like are transmitted in order to provide the compacting pressure for the unit.
In known home garbage disposal units, the garbage is normally placed within a tank or receptacle which is located beneath a compacting piston and which essentially represents a bottom die within which the garbage is compacted by movement of the piston downwardly into the receptacle. In many cases, the receptacle may be lined with a foil bag.
As the quantity of garbage or waste material accumulated in the bottom receptacle member increases, the size of the compressed mass of garbage becomes larger and displays greater recoil or resilient characteristics thereby making it more difficult to crush or compact added material. Thus, solid waste materials such as bottles, cans or the like, can no longer be adequately compressed or crushed within the disposal apparatus.
A further consideration relates to the likelihood of damage of material which is used as a lining for the receptacle member. Ordinarily, foil bags of the like used to line the receptacle may be easily damaged by solid waste materials, such as glass or metal parts. As a result, fluid which becomes separated from the solid components of the garbage during the pressing operation may be discharged into the openings or ruptures formed in the lining material thereby giving rise to the creation of foul odors. Spraying of deodorizing substances normally utilized within disposal units is generally ineffective to remedy such a situation.
Accordingly, garbage disposals of the prior art have been found as failing to meet many of the requirements which arise in the compacting of garbage and waste materials, particularly in the home.
Additionally, conservation considerations have imposed further requirements upon the operating characteristics of garbage disposal units. With the desirability for recycling many of the raw materials found in waste products, conservation of such raw materials becomes more and more important. However, such recycling necessarily involves the requirement that the waste materials be sorted in order to enable their processing in a manner which renders them available for subsequent use. However, sorting of the waste materials at the collecting points has been found to be extremely costly.
Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide a garbage disposal unit giving rise to several advantages over prior art devices. One important consideration involved in the features imparted to the present invention is the need for enabling a convenient sorting of garbage in the home. Further considerations, such as improvement in the garbage compacting characteristics during operation of the garbage disposal unit are also involved. Accordingly, the present invention is directed toward providing a solution for the problems arising when it is desired to provide a garbage compacting mechanism having improved compacting efficiency, particularly with regard to bottles, cans and the like while also making it possible to easily and efficiently sort the waste materials which are to be disposed of and to prevent damage to the plastic liners for the receptacle members of such disposal units.